Following DeSmog’s Revelations on Spectra Pipeline, MA Senators Demand More Answers from FERC on Alleged Conf...

In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC ), Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey demand new answers about an alleged conflict of interest in the environmental review of a proposed Spectra Energy natural gas pipeline project. As DeSmog first reported , the Environmental Assessment (EA ) for Spectra’s Atlantic Bridge project was carried out on FERC ’s behalf by third-party contractor Natural Resource Group (NRG ), which at the time was working directly for Spectra on a related pipeline, PennEast. Following these revelations, Sens. Warren and Markey demanded explanations from FERC Commissioner Norman Bay, urging him to issue a new and objective review for the project. FERC Commissioner Norman Bay responded by detailing the procedure by which FERC chooses third-party contractors and vets candidates for conflicts. “It is my understanding th...